HEMP!!!
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I carry stuff out without any bag pretty often. Iāve gotten pretty good at it too.
Kobe thread is that way ā
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Oops. So reading this thread Iām thinking āwhy arenāt people using the recyclable blue plastic grocery bags?ā, then I look it up and despite the bags having the recyclable symbol most municipalities switched to a sorting system where any plastic at all just clogs up the conveyor belts. So guess Iāve been causing problems for years.
With straws I would support a ban, but maybe something like a ādefault banā would be better. Make it so plastic straws are available but only upon request. I prefer not having a straw, but donāt care enough to ask a waiter āno straw pleaseā, though Iāve been contemplating switching that up recently.
Other recycling hassle: Iāve been hanging on to this āoldā TV (old as in its still a high-def flatscreeen). Iām aware enough that I know you canāt just dump computers/TVs in the garbage so I google recycling centers nearby. They want me to pay them $50 to get rid of it. I bought it for $1000 originally and it still works.
If it still works, put it on craigslist free (in my neighborhood people take stuff if you leave it in the alley on trash day).
+1, especially if you live near young people. Some college kid would probably be willing to pick it up directly from your house
Well I should specify that last I check it worked, which was maybe 8 years ago. To see if it actually works I have to find the correct cables, remote, etcā¦ which is all buried in the closet somewhere.
Also I understand I could easily get away with leaving it any alley but technically that is littering/dumping and Iām trying to do the right thing in theory but its a pain in the ass.
Iām not suggesting littering. If you put something out in our alley the night before trash day and itās still there after the trash truck goes by, you need to deal with it. Most of the time if something is reasonably decent itāll get picked up. In our alley itās standard practice. A couple times weāve grabbed something from the alley.
Smart restaurant owners are already doing this
Probably wouldnāt work at the exact part of where I live in my neighborhood (its a busy commercial area), but yeah something like that might be worth a try. Just seems weird to leave something out for trash that has 0% chance of being picked up by city trash trucks. Seems iffy in theory.
Trash truck definitely wouldnāt pick it up. But every week thereās at least one pickup truck that drives down the alley on trash morning picking stuff up - usually more than one.
I put a broken fan on my curb, labeled it broken, and it was still gone in 30 minutes. I call it the magic curb.
Only downside is the time I was drying my Mexican blanket on the railing in front of my house and someone thought it was a magic curb item.
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Yeah, I didnāt realize it was a problem until recently. Iāll still put one in the recycling bin occasionally, but thatās only to hold other recyclables if my bin gets full (itās a small bin).
The Publix around the corner from my house has bins outside the front door specifically for plastic bag recycling, so Iāve been starting to take over bunches of excess bags every few trips. Of course, I still keep a ton of them for garbage, etc.
Yeah, once I had a 32" CRT TV that broke and the garbage wouldnāt take it (and it was a bitch to lug down to the curb). I advertised it for free on Craigslist. Got an e-mail 5 minutes later and it was gone 30 minutes later.
The guy who took it was an electrician who scoured Craigslist every day looking for things to fix. Coincidentally, I had another TV that started having problems a few days later, so I e-mailed him to ask for advice. I also asked how my old TV was doing - he had already repaired it and was using it.
Where I live there is an annual collection of old televisions, computers, and other stuff like that. I think somebody goes through it all to see what is still working, what could be repaired, what parts could be salvaged, etc.
I coincidentally just happened upon a video that showed a couple biodegradable straw replacements. One was made with apple fibers and is actually edible. The other was made with avocado pits. Seemed interesting - food waste put to use.
On the flip side, every drop of oil that goes into making a plastic bag will never be burned and turned into carbon dioxide. Carbon sequestration technology!
I use (when I remember, which is rare) those heavy plastic/fabric/whatever trader joes bags. Are those ok?
If I donāt remember I use the TJs paper bags and then use them as my recycle bags. Two uses at least. Theyāre also great for car camping - double bagged. And they come in handy when you break something.
My ex has 3 small nylon bags that bundled into a little ball and fit in her purse. That has to be good. Sheās probably gotten 1000s of use out of those.
Theyāre also in your table salt, regardless of whether itās regular, sea salt, Himalayan, doesnāt much matter.
I canāt find it now, but I read a study about it where dozens of brands from around the world were analyzed. The brands were made anonymous, but a Hawaiian brand had the lowest content, followed by a Utah brand in close 2nd. Or something like that; both were ranked very high and had a fraction of the microplastics found in other brands. Last I checked, there was only one brand of salt from Utah, so I deduced that they were talking about āReal Saltā brand, so thatās what I use now.
Weird that some plastic molecules even make their way into the Utah salt mines. Must be by air?
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